Patriots

“He’s a guy who can communicate with every single person on the team.”

The Patriots might have contractually appointed Jerod Mayo as Bill Belichick’s successor over a year ago, but the 15th head coach in New England’s franchise history still has plenty of question marks surrounding him going into the 2024 season. 

While his coaching acumen has been felt on a stingy Patriots defense over the last few seasons, Mayo is currently the youngest head coach in the NFL at 37 years old. He rejoined Belichick’s staff just five years ago, and has not called plays before — with Steve Belichick handling those duties on the defensive side.

But Mayo’s potential, presence, and communication with players has drawn plenty of positive reviews — both from the current personnel in New England’s locker room and several of his former teammates during his All-Pro playing career. 

Speaking on the “Off The Pike” Podcast with Brian Barrett this week, former Patriots running back James White mapped out what makes Mayo so valuable as a coach. 

“Very vocal, very loud, very energetic,” White said of Mayo. “He’s a guy who can communicate with every single person on the team in the locker room, coaching staff and he knows the game of football. That’s one of the best traits that he had as a player. He was very smart, very knowledgeable.”

White has plenty of experience working with Mayo, playing alongside him in Foxborough for two seasons (2014-15). Mayo rejoined the Patriots organization in 2019, with White — who played until 2021 — gaining firsthand insight into the former linebacker’s growth as a teacher and coach.

New England is likely in a state of transition moving forward, with a significant roster overhaul potentially on tap in the coming years as the team looks to build for the future.

Given the influx of young talent that could be coming to Foxborough in 2024 and beyond, White believes Mayo is the perfect type of authority figure who can resonate with the next generation of NFL talent.

“He’s great with people,” White said. “I think as a coach, you got to be great with people, especially in this day and age. The kids that are coming in now are very different. It started to taper off probably the last three, four, five years. The kids coming into the NFL, they handle things a lot differently.

“I think he’s a guy who can embrace that. Like I said, he can communicate with a lot of different guys. He knows how to get guys going, whether it’s him being loud and happy or whether it’s him being loud and getting on people. I think he can find that good, common ground. He’s a younger guy, still in his 30s, like myself. I think he’s a great guy for this job.”